Wage proposal bad for business, critics say

May 19, 2006|By From news services.

Opponents of two proposed ordinances that would set a minimum wage for employees of big-box retail stores contended Thursday that passage would hurt the very people the measures are intended to help, give Chicago a black eye in the business world and set the city up for a defeat in court.

The competing ordinances differ in some details, but each would require a minimum hourly wage of about $10 and at least $3 an hour in fringe benefits. Stores with more than 75,000 square feet would be affected.

No vote was taken Thursday by the City Council Finance Committee, which plans to study the matter further.

Critics contend the measures are a result of antipathy by some alderman for Wal-Mart, a company that has become a national lightning rod on fair pay issues. Two years ago, the City Council blocked Wal-Mart's proposal to build a store on the South Side.

"If you are thinking this will only affect that one company, this is much broader than that," said David Vite, president of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, who said that "literally thousands of retailers" could be impacted.

"Setting artificial barriers doesn't create jobs or guarantee increased wages," said Jerry Roper, president of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. "A big-box ordinance would further limit the opportunities available to Chicago residents seeking first-time or part-time employment."

An attorney by hired by Vite's group told the committee that the city lacks the legal authority to set wage rates, and that, if a big-box measure passed, it would violate the equal protection guarantee of the U.S. Constitution, because it would put a burden on some retailers but not others.

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In other action

The committee advanced a measure that would permit the city to impose its 8 percent amusement tax on the price above face value of tickets to Chicago entertainment events that are sold online. If approved by the full council, the ordinance would produce an estimated $16 million a year in new revenue, officials said.